


Only the two of us now

by bellamie_blake



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bellamy and Clarke have to depend on each other to survive, Grounders attack, Lots of deaths in first chapter, Slow Burn, Survival, Trust
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-25 16:25:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2628296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellamie_blake/pseuds/bellamie_blake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Begins in Episode 2 - the Grounders attack before the group has a chance to go after Jasper. After the massacre at the camp, Clarke finds herself on the run with Bellamy. Though neither is happy about it, they must depend on one another in order to survive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter in what will hopefully be a long fic, if I can continue being inspired. The first chapter is a bit gory and might be upsetting to some people. Please be warned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon up until halfway through Season 1, Episode 2, where Clarke and Bellamy are arguing about the wristbands. The Grounders attack before they can go looking for Jasper.

_“The only way the Ark is going to think I’m dead, is if I’m dead.”_

_“Brave princess.”_

Clarke and Bellamy stared at each other for a long minute. Wells and Murphy didn’t say anything, the only noise coming from the creatures in the forest around them. Finally, Bellamy spoke.

“Fine. Let’s get moving. Split up, cover more ground. Murphy, you go with Wells. Princess, you’re with me.”

Clarke looked from Bellamy to Wells, not wanting to go with Bellamy, but her anger at Wells flared up once again. She could not look at him without seeing her father’s face right before he was floated. She turned away from him and started off into the forest without looking back.

“Let’s go,” she called over her shoulder. She heard Bellamy fall into step beside her, and they headed south through the trees.

The camp was only a hundred yards behind them when they heard the screams. They both pulled up short and whipped around just in time to see the explosion. The makeshift wall they had started building blew outward. The entire east side of their camp went up in flame. Spears and arrows flew through the air. Screams and yells grew louder and more panicked. She saw a figure fleeing the camp, and then a few more people following. 

Bellamy was running back to camp before Clarke came back to her senses, and then she was right behind him. Entering the camp from the west, they witnessed a hellish scene through the thickening haze of smoke. The largest tent was on fire, as well as the half-constructed wall. 

Several campers lay dead, dismembered from the explosion or speared like Jasper had been. She saw a few people trying to tend to the wounded. One boy was half dragging a girl away from the fire when a spear flew right into the back of his head. He collapsed on the ground. 

Some of the kids tried to hide in the makeshift huts and tents that had been erected, but Clarke could see the fires were spreading quickly.

“Run! Run!” she yelled, running towards the huts. She was thrown backwards as the nearest hut exploded outward, and found herself on the ground. Coughing, she felt dizzy, her hearing muffled. Her ears began ringing painfully. Looking around wildly, she saw Bellamy kneeling on the ground. She crawled slowly towards him.

“Oh, no,” she whispered, but she couldn’t hear her own voice through the damage to her hearing. Before her lay Octavia, Bellamy’s sister - the only sister anyone on the Ark had had for decades.

She was dead. Three separate spears pierced her body - one through her heart and lungs. Her eyes stared up at the night sky above. She’d only seen the stars from this side once. After all this time, after all the effort to get here, Octavia’s short life was over, just like that.

Bellamy was crying, screaming at the sky, cradling his sister’s head in his lap. Spears and arrows continued to pierce the sky around them. Clarke turned her head painfully around, and saw more of her friends falling to the ground. Then everything went dark.

____________________

When Clarke became aware of herself again, she registered nothing but pain all over her body. She groaned and kept her eyes closed, willing herself back into unconsciousness, to no avail. She realized that she could hear sounds again, and heard a faint, irregular rhythm that she couldn’t place. Her head hurt too much still to open her eyes, and she concentrated instead on her breathing.

The memory came back to her slowly. Her people, massacred in front of her. Octavia, her body seeming smaller in death. Bellamy, overcome with grief.

 _Where am I?_ Clarke wondered. Did she get captured? Does it matter at this point?

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes a crack. Very faintly she could tell that she was indoors. There was a wall ahead of her and a ceiling above her.

Opening her eyes further, Clarke realized it wasn’t a ceiling -- it was a cave. A small fire burned at the base of the far wall. A figure crouched in front of the flames, his back to her. His arms moved in time with the rhythm she was hearing. Clarke realized he was whittling. She raised herself up onto her elbows.

“Bellamy?”

He turned at her voice, his face grim. “Welcome back.”

“Where are we?”

“Cave. About a mile away from camp. Near a stream. But once you can walk, we should move. We’ve been here too long.”

“How long?” Clarke demanded.

“Three days. You were unconscious. I couldn’t carry you any farther. Lucky I found this cave when I did.”

Clarke pushed herself into a sitting position, leaning against the cave wall. She had to catch her breath from the effort and cursed her weakness. This was no time to be weak.

“Why did you carry me? Why did we leave? What happened to everyone else?”

Bellamy regarded her darkly. “You saw what happened. There was no one left. I carried you because we had to get out of there. You’re welcome.” Sarcasm dripped from the last words as he turned back to his project.

Fury grew in Clarke’s chest. “There’s no one left?! What if someone survived? What if someone’s hurt? You should’ve stayed! You should’ve helped them!”

“There was no one left to help. I helped you -- you were the only one left alive. The only one I could save.”

“I saw kids running, some of them probably got away! We have to find them!”

Bellamy shook his head. “No. It’s too dangerous to go back. We have to get out of this area as soon as we can. Out of Grounder territory. Find a safer place -- head south, where it’ll be warmer. Easier to survive the winter.”

“We have to find them! That’s our people, we need to find them.”

“No. No. We don’t. It’s too late.”

“Just because your sister’s dead doesn’t mean no one else matters!”

Clarke regretted it the instant she said it. Bellamy whipped back around, his eyes dark with rage. Standing up, he towered over her, nearly as tall as the cave itself, and she cringed. He still held the makeshift knife in one hand and the spear he had been whittling in the other. He was frightening, like he might just decide to kill Clarke, like it wouldn’t make a difference to him.

Clarke understood in that instant - he had nothing left to lose. He had come all the way to Earth to protect his sister and failed. Now he was stranded here, alone. What would he do?

“I’m...I’m sorry,” she whispered. She remained as still as possible, pressed against the wall as hard as she could. She was painfully aware of her weakness and the fact that she had no weapons. 

“Don’t make me regret saving your life,” he growled, and left the cave without another word.

Clarke let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, leaning her head back and, despite herself, falling back asleep once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me feedback on this if you have any, I'm hoping to make it pretty long, I have a lot of ideas. Thanks for reading!  
> Visit my [tumblr](http://together-at-the-start-of-time.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke takes stock of her current situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of ideas for this fic, but they're all for later chapters! This chapter is kind of establishing their tense alliance...more action to come later.

It wasn’t until she woke up hours later that Clarke realized she was laying on something soft.

A sleeping bag.

As she came back to consciousness, a delicious smell reached her nose and she became painfully aware of how hungry she was. Sitting up, she saw that Bellamy was working over the fire. He noticed her movement and indicated a water bottle near her feet. She drank greedily, only remembering halfway through that she should take it slow. Coughing, she set the water bottle back down on the ground.

Without a word, Bellamy offered her a slice of meat on a stick. Clarke inspected it -- was it pork? Whatever it was, it smelled incredible, and Clarke took a deliberate bite and chewed carefully, having to force herself not to inhale the entire thing.

Apparently, Bellamy had managed to grab some supplies before their escape from the destroyed camp. He had two bottles, which he’d filled with water from the nearby stream, two sleeping bags, one of the crude knives that had been fashioned from the metal hull of the dropship, and a tarp that could be used as a tent. He also had one pack in which all the supplies could be stored. Not much, but better than nothing. In the corner of the cave was a small but impressive collection of spears he had fashioned while she’d been sleeping.

While she was eating, Clarke noticed that her watch was still on her wrist. Her other wrist was still enclosed in the metal wristband, to her surprise. She looked up and saw Bellamy was eyeing her wristband too.

“I’m amazed you didn’t take it off while I was sleeping.”

“I haven’t decided yet. Hopefully the Ark thinks it’s too dangerous already, from all the...others. But I’m sure thinking that their Princess is dead will convince them,” Bellamy idly twirled his spear in his hand while he spoke.

Clarke felt defensive, her body primed for a fight if necessary. “Like I said, over my dead body.”

She held his gaze, but couldn’t read his expression, and she realized that she didn’t know this boy at all. Would he honestly kill her? Would be fight her for the wristband, possibly injure her in the effort to remove it? She didn’t think she was quite strong enough to fight him off yet - she mentally cursed herself once again and willed her body to recover faster.

Finally, Bellamy looked away. “Whatever. No need to worry about it now.” He stared into the fire, feeding more kindling into it.

Clarke watched him for a while, and neither spoke. The only sound was the fire crackling and Clarke’s chewing. The meat he’d given her was actually incredibly delicious. 

After what she estimated to be about half an hour, Clarke broke the silence.

“Why do you care so much about the wristbands? What difference does it make if the Ark knows that we’re alive?”

Bellamy didn’t respond. 

Clarke huffed in frustration.

“Tell me. We’re stuck together, you made it so that I’m stuck with you. Now tell me the truth, I have a right to know!”

Bellamy turned to meet her gaze. She saw darkness in his eyes again, but this time she didn’t shrink back. She held his gaze as firmly as she could. His voice was icy cold when he spoke.

“Because they’ll kill me if they come down here and find me.”

Clarke didn’t look away.

“Why would they do that?”

Bellamy was silent for a long time, but did not look away from Clarke. His eyes softened slightly. Clarke sensed he was debating within himself. Finally he broke eye contact, staring into the fire once more. When he finally spoke, it was barely audible.

“Because I murdered the Chancellor.”

Clarke gasped. “What? Wh...why?”

“To get onto the drop ship,” he answered forcefully, “to protect my sister. To come to Earth and take care of her. It was the only way. And I’d do it again, if I thought it could save her...” Bellamy trailed off. He threw a bundle of kindling straight into the fire and the flames jumped and danced for a moment before settling.

Clarke couldn’t be sure, but it seemed that he had tears in his eyes. 

She didn’t press him any further, and decided she needed a little space to breathe. Wit some effort, she worked herself to a standing position, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she could stand upright without falling over, though she did feel a bit unsteady on her feet.

Although she hadn’t suffered any major injuries at the camp, her proximity to the explosion seemed to have weakened her from head to toe. But her hearing had returned, and she could stand more or less successfully, so that was good progress in her recovery.

“I’ll take watch. You get some sleep,” Clarke retrieved two spears from the ground and headed towards the cave entrance without looking at Bellamy. He didn’t stop her.

\-------------

Clarke’s mind raced.

She was all alone with Bellamy. Essentially trapped with him - her two choices were to wander off on her own, or stay with him. It was logically safer and easier to survive with a second person, easier to protect against dangers. But what if the other person was the danger?

He was a murderer. Would he decide to kill her?

But if he’d wanted to do that, he could’ve done it while she was asleep. Could’ve left her for dead at the camp. So he must feel like he’d benefit from having her alive.

Maybe he needed her for now, but what if that changed? Would he hesitate to end her life if she was useless to him?

Clarke cursed under her breath. Why couldn’t she have been stuck with anyone else? She’d rather be with Wells now - but no, Wells was probably dead, she reminded herself. Dead, and she suddenly couldn’t find it in herself to hate a dead man.

Without warning, she was filled with a sense of longing for Wells. She missed him deeply. Not the monster who’d sold out her father, but the friend she’d shared her life with. Her best friend, before all the horrible events had transpired that landed her in jail.

Her mind drifted back to Bellamy...he hadn’t been in jail. He was older than the kids who had assigned to the dropship. She tried to think back - her memory of the first day on the ground was somewhat fuzzy. He had stowed away on the ship, was that right?

It could not have been easy to get onto the dropship - a top secret mission, from what she’d understood. Not many people would have known about it. It would’ve taken a lot to get him through security. Clarke thought back - when she’d first met him, he’d been wearing a guard’s uniform. Yes, she was sure of it. But she’d heard that he’d been a janitor on the Ark. Hadn’t she?

She shook her head against the fuzziness of her memories, willing her mind to clear. A guard’s uniform...a janitor. He wasn’t supposed to be there.

So someone had helped him pose as a guard to sneak onto the ship.

And something clicked in Clarke’s mind. Suddenly it all made sense.

Clarke rose from her position and entered to the cave. Bellamy wasn’t asleep, just lying on his back staring at the ceiling. He lay on the same sleeping bag Clarke had rested on, the other still rolled up tight. She wondered if he had slept at all since their escape.

“Hey,” Clarke said, and it felt a little meek, so she cleared her throat and said more forcefully, “can we talk?”

Bellamy looked at her, then pushed himself up into a sitting position. He reached over and grabbed more kindling, passing some to her. Clarke sat on the opposite side of the fire, and they both fed the fire as they spoke.

“Someone hired you, didn’t they? You’re not a murderer....you were just a hired gun,” Clarke said bluntly. She didn’t want to beat around the bush. She hoped that he wouldn’t be evasive, that they could speak frankly about this and put it behind them.

Bellamy met her eyes. 

“Yes.”

“Have you ever killed anyone else before?”

His head whipped around to meet her eyes, but she remained impassive and stared him down. 

“No. I don’t kill people,” he said, sounding annoyed, turning his gaze back to the cave wall.

“Who hired you?”

When Bellamy didn’t answer, Clarke huffed in exasperation.

“Come on. What harm is there in me knowing? We’re not on the Ark anymore, if you hadn’t noticed. No one I can exactly leak the information to. ”

Bellamy sighed, and said, “Commander Shumway.”

Clarke wondered what reason Commander Shumway had to murder Chancellor Jaha.

Clarke considered Bellamy for a long time. She studied his face as he studied the cracks along the wall. 

Clarke could see everything - this boy’s whole life, spent looking after a sister who, according to law, should never have been born. It had been a strictly enforced rule in her old world - couples were allowed only one child. There had been no siblings registered on the Ark in over 2 generations. Had others existed in secret, like his sister?  
Octavia obviously had been discovered at some point, thrown in prison simply for the crime of living. Had his mother been floated for it? There was no question about it. How horrible for Bellamy to experience. Perhaps even felt responsible for it.

He’d committed murder, risked his own life to come here, Earth, without knowing what dangers might wait for him, just to watch over her. Everything he had done was for Octavia.

And now she was gone forever.

“You always did what you had to do to protect your sister,” Clarke said softly. It wasn’t a question.

Bellamy didn’t respond, but stared absently into the fire. Though he only sat two feet away from her, Clarke felt as far away from him as the Ark had felt from the Earth. He was closed off, turned inwards. And projecting a dangerous aura, as though coming too closely to him would set him off into a fury.

After a few moments, Clarke stood up and walked outside to resume her post by the entrance to the cave.

 _Okay_ , she thought. _I don’t have to like it, but I can stay with this guy. He's not really a killer. And no one’s hiring assassins down here on Earth. So, safety in numbers, better than going off alone._

For now.

Clarke’s hand went to touch her father’s watch on one wrist, then she turned her attention to the telemetry wristband on the other. Her one last connection to her mother, her people, her old life.

She hoped that it was telling her mother that she was still alive.

Frowning into the darkness, she wondered if there was anyone alive in the universe who felt as alone as she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback greatly appreciated.
> 
> Visit my [tumblr](http://together-at-the-start-of-time.tumblr.com/).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy learn to work together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably could be edited more but I don't feel up to that right now. Comments always appreciated. I am getting more and more inspired for this fic so it helps to know people like it.

A few days went by where they barely spoke at all. Clarke was still recovering from her injuries, and Bellamy busied himself with searching nearby for bunkers to scavenge supplies from. Everyday he returned with either fish or fowl, and they cooked it over the fire together and ate in silence. There wasn’t much to say, she felt. Not a lot of small talk to be made when you’re living alone in the wilderness with someone you dislike.

On the third day in the cave, he stumbled upon a bunker and returned to the cave with two pistols, a backpack, a flashlight, and a blanket. He spent a while sitting at the mouth of the cave checking the bullets in the guns. Clarke took the pack and arranged the blanket, flashlight and her water bottle neatly inside. When she was done, she stood up and walked slowly to his side, sitting next to him.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“Can I have one of those?” she asked, her voice rough from disuse. She cleared her throat.

“No,” he answered simply. She frowned.

“Any particular reason why not?”

“I can think of a few.”

Clarke huffed. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes,” Bellamy sounded annoyed. “Have you even held a gun before?”

Clarke didn’t respond, but it was clear that she hadn’t. She scoffed. “So that’s it? No prior training on the Ark, so down here on the ground I’m not allowed to hunt?”

“Can’t use the guns for hunting, Princess. Not enough ammo. We have to reserve the guns to protect ourselves against the Grounders, if they come for us.”

“You say we, but you mean you,” Clarke said angrily.

“Yes, I mean me. If the Grounders come for us, I think it’s wise for the person shooting at them to have some actual experience using a gun. Don’t you?” Bellamy’s dark eyes stared into her own, hard and unyielding.

“That’s great. So I have to just depend on you for everything? Food, shelter, protection? I didn’t know that’s what I was signing up for when you rescued me,” she spat out.

_Maybe I’d have been better off dying with my people_ , she added silently, but his eyes burned with anger now and she found herself nervous that she might’ve pushed him too far. Nonetheless, she forced herself to hold his gaze, unwilling to back down.

He looked away, out into the woods. Considered for a moment.

“You’re right,” he said softly, and turned to meet her eyes again. “If you think you’re up to it, then tomorrow I’ll show you how to hunt.”

Clarke was momentarily stupefied, her mouth hanging slightly open. That was the last thing she expected him to say.

He grinned at her reaction, an amused smile that caused his face to be almost unrecognizable from the sullen and brooding boy she’d grown accustomed to over the past few days.

Clarke had never seen him smile before, and it dawned on her that her dumbfounded expression was the source of his entertainment. She composed herself quickly and stood up, turning back towards the cave.

“Thanks,” she said, unsure what she was even thanking him for, and headed back inside to lay by the fire.

The next morning, Clarke woke easily from a dreamless sleep, and sat up, stretching her arms as she did so. The rays of sunlight seemed lower than normal – she was up earlier than she had been all week. This was a good sign, she thought. She must be fully recovered from the impact of the explosion by now.

She yawned aloud, and glanced over at Bellamy. Her eyes went wide as they fell on him.

He was shaking in his sleeping bag, sweat glistening on his forehead, though it was cool in the morning air. His face was contorted in pain, and tiny little grunts escaped his lips. He clutched at the sleeping bag around him.

He was having a nightmare, some terror in his mind tormenting him in his sleep. 

Clarke froze. For some reason she was uncertain what to do. Then the healer in her snapped to attention and she jumped up. She crossed over to his side of the cave and reached out to touch his shoulder gently.

“Bellamy,” she spoke softly, and shook him by the shoulder lightly. “Bellamy, wake up please.” When he didn’t respond, she shook him a little more forcefully.

Suddenly, he woke, eyes flying open, his hand shooting up to grab her wrist. She gasped and stumbled backwards – if he hadn’t been holding her, she would’ve fallen. His eyes were wild as he stared at her for what felt like a long time. The grip on her wrist didn’t loosen – she felt trapped. She forced herself to breathe evenly.

Finally, he seemed to return to himself. His eyes softened, and his grip on her softened as well. She pulled her arm away and scooted back against the cave wall. He lay flat on his back and stared up at the cave ceiling, breathing hard.

Clarke fought down a tiny surge of panic. A purple bruise was already forming on her wrist. She reminded herself that he had been dreaming, and hadn’t attacked her on purpose. Taking several deep breaths, she closed her eyes for a few minutes.

When she opened them again, Bellamy was sitting up, watching her.

“Good morning,” she said with mock cheeriness, and he gave a humorless laugh. Nothing about the situation was that funny, she knew.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His eyes travelled to her wrist and the angry bruise that marked the skin. A long silence followed. She didn’t speak. Finally, he continued.

“I was dreaming about…her. I couldn’t…I couldn’t save her.” His voice trailed off. He swallowed hard. Clarke wondered if he ever cried, or if he kept his emotions sealed away.

“It’s alright,” she replied softly, and realized it was. She couldn’t fault him for being haunted by what had happened to his sister.

They sat for a few more minutes in silence before Bellamy stood up. He gathered spears from the corner of the cave and held out one for her.

Clarke stood up as well, and took the spear. They each slung their packs over their shoulders, and Bellamy took the lead as they silently exited the cave.

They walked for a few minutes, Clarke trailing behind Bellamy, concentrating on his footsteps, trying to step where he stepped, trying to make as little noise as possible. Eventually, they came to a stream, and Clarke couldn’t stop the little gasp of joy that escaped her lips.

“Ready to learn how to fish?” he smirked at her, and there was a tone to his voice that she didn’t expect. Confidence, she realized. He knew what he was doing.

“Let’s do it,” she spoke as confidently as she could, as though she could spear any fish that came her way without batting an eye.

The morning passed quickly, with Bellamy showing Clarke how to stand still in the water, wait for the fish to get acclimated to her presence, and then strike quickly. There was a fair amount of cursing involved, and many fish got away with their lives as she splashed ungracefully into the water over and over. But eventually, she had gathered a few respectable fish, and Bellamy had speared enough to make up for her measly take.

Bellamy started a small fire and got to work cleaning a few of the fish to make lunch. Clarke stretched out on the bank of the stream, relishing the feel of the warm sun against her damp skin and clothing.

She had once read that humans used to lay in the sunlight for hours at a time, in an effort to darken their skin color temporarily. Something about darker toned skin was more attractive than pale skin, but she in her research, she had never figured out what the attraction was. 

Laying in the sun now, she glanced down at herself. Her skin was quite pale, almost shining in the bright sunlight. Idly, she tried to imagine herself with tan skin, or dark skin like Wells had had. It was impossible.

_Whatever_ , she thought to herself, _this sun feels so good it doesn’t matter what my skin color is. I could lay here forever._

She must have dozed for a bit, because the next thing she knew Bellamy was gently prodding her awake and offering her a piece of fish. She sat up and ate it greedily, surprised at how hungry she had been. 

After they had eaten, Bellamy was ready to head back to the cave, but Clarke held up a hand.

“Not yet. I want to go in the water,” she stated matter-of-factly. 

Bellamy rolled his eyes. “You were already in the water,” he spoke gruffly.

“Yeah, and now I want to go in again. I haven’t cleaned myself in days. You can go back if you want, but I am going to bathe,” she stood up as she spoke and walked off without another word.

She headed a little farther downstream, and glancing back, she felt satisfied that she was far enough away that he couldn’t get a good view of her. The area around the stream was fairly open, nothing to really hide behind, so distance was the only real form of modesty she had at this point. She glanced back again, and saw that his back was to her. She smiled. At least he was being polite.

Stripping off her clothes, she slipped into the water and just stood there for a moment, enjoying the feel of it on her body. She imagined all her troubles from the last week sloughing from her skin. Had it really only been a week since she’d fallen from space, from her home, to this strange land that was in some ways also her home? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Clarke submerged herself, letting her hair soak in the water, and washed her skin beneath the surface. Even without soap, she felt impossibly clean compared to the last few days living in the cave.

A glance in Bellamy’s direction assured her that he was still facing away from her, and she exited the stream, pulling on her clothes once more. She wrung out her hair and let it hang wet around her shoulders.

She rejoined Bellamy where he waited for her, and pulled her pack around her shoulders once more. “Ready to go?” she inquired.

Bellamy nodded, picking up his own pack, and started off into the woods silently, not looking directly at her. Clarke glanced down at herself, and sighed. Her clothes were clinging to her body and her shirt was almost see-through. 

_Boys_ , she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. 

They traversed the woods in silence, Clarke paying less attention to where she was stepping this time. Her foot caught on something and she stumbled forward, her hands bracing her fall. A cloud of dust rose around her as she hit the ground and she coughed.

“Shit,” she whispered, pushing herself up and wiping her hands off on her wet clothing. Suddenly, Bellamy was at her side, looking alarmed.

“What’s wrong?” she said, and the words felt heavy on her tongue. Her legs felt suddenly weak, and she frowned. “Bell…what…” she couldn’t get the words out.

As her vision faded, she collapsed to the ground, only vaguely aware of Bellamy catching her before she tumbled into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visit me on [tumblr](http://together-at-the-start-of-time.tumblr.com).


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are changing for Bellamy and Clarke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to put this chapter up! I had some writer's block - I knew what I wanted to happen in this chapter, but had a hard time getting it to work. But I am pleased with the results and curious to know what you think!

When Clarke opened her eyes, she groaned at the ache in her head. A cool, wet cloth touched her forehead and she glanced up to see Bellamy sitting behind her.

No, not exactly behind her, she realized. Her head was resting on his knee. She was a little surprised by this. 

“What happened?” she asked.

“Trap,” he said simply, holding up a frayed line made from woven grass. “Tripwire, causes you to fall, land on the dust, knocks you out. Some sort of paralytic.”

Clarke’s eyes widened at the last word. She pushed herself up from the reclining position against Bellamy’s leg, and gasped.

“My legs...I can’t feel my legs. Bellamy...” she whispered in horror.

“It’s only temporary,” he reassured her, but his face remained hard, emotionless. “Yesterday your entire body was stiff as a board. Today your neck and your arms are moving. You should be fine in a day or two.”

Clarke used her arms to twist her body to the side, her useless legs dragging on the cave floor, and propped herself up into a sitting position against the wall. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and took a few deep breathes. 

_Okay,_ she thought, _it’s going to be okay. Only temporary._

She refused to the listen to the voice of doubt in the back of her mind. She could not afford to panic about this right now.

After one final deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at Bellamy. He was still staring into the fire - she noticed it was a small one tonight, barely enough to illuminate the entire cave. Glancing around, she realized for the first time since waking that this was not the same cave they had been in.

“How long was I out? How far are we from where we were before?” she blurted out, suddenly thirsty for knowledge about her situation. She needed details, needed to feel like she had some semblance of control over her life.

“You were out a little more than a day. We’re only a half mile south of where we had been. Couldn’t carry you much farther once your body seized up,” he paused, then added, “I was lucky to find this cave. Could’ve been stuck out in the open.”

“Why didn’t you just go back to the first cave?”

“Well, there was a trap, wasn’t there, Princess?” he asked bitterly. “I had no idea if the Grounders were out there watching us, following us, I didn’t know anything. We needed to be out of there, so I got us out of there as fast as I could. And we need to get moving as soon as you can walk.”

Clarke narrowed her eyes. “We do?”

“Yes. Because we might still be in Grounder territory and not even know it. It’s a mistake to stay around here. We need to find somewhere safe.” His eyes flicked upwards to meet Clarke’s gaze. “Otherwise we’re not gonna make it.”

Clarke considered for a moment, and sighed. She had to agree that it was the logical thing to do, the safest course of action, given the circumstances. It was a wise move.

“Okay. As soon as I can use my legs again,” she promised, breaking eye contact to glare down at the offending appendages, as if she could intimidate them into functionality with a look.

Bellamy nodded, looking back at the fire. Clarke glanced at the cave entrance and saw that it was dark outside. Nighttime.

Clarke was suddenly certain that Bellamy had stayed awake the entire time she had been unconscious. There was no way he would have slept, leaving the cave unprotected, with no one guarding it. That wasn’t how he operated - everything he did was in the effort of their survival. 

It dawned on Clark that Bellamy had real leadership qualities. If things had been different, if their camp had lived....

She shook her head slightly, shutting the guilt out of her mind. The last thing she needed now was to fret about what could have been. She had to focus on moving forward.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” she suggested. “I’m guessing you probably didn’t sleep at all in the past two days.”

Bellamy chuckled at that, an amused grin spreading across his face. “You got me there, Princess.”

Clarke couldn’t help smiling, too.

A few hours later, the only sound was the crackling of the fire and Bellamy’s quiet snoring. Clarke was concentrating on her legs, attempting to wiggle her toes, to flex her knee, anything to show that the feeling was coming back to them. 

She groaned in frustration and crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring into the fire angrily. _Great_ , she thought, _just great. I’m weak again, weak and useless. Good job, Griffin._

Bellamy let out of a gasp in his sleep, his brow furrowing. Clarke looked over to him, and as he started to shake, she realized that he was having a nightmare again. Sweat was collecting on his forehead and his breath came out ragged.

Clarke twisted her body away from the cave wall, then used her arms to drag herself closer to Bellamy. She sat behind him, and hesitated just one before reaching a hand out to stroke his hair soothingly.

“Shhh,” she whispered, her mouth a few inches from his ear. “You’re okay. It’s alright. Everything is okay.” 

She expected that he would wake up, startled and wild-eyed, like he had the last time. But he didn’t. Instead, he stilled, his breath steadying.

Clarke let out a sigh of relief. She leaned against the cave wall once more, watching him sleep, her useless legs forgotten.

A few hours later, he woke without any warning or preamble, simply opened his eyes and sat up. He regarded Clarke with confused eyes - she was significantly closer to him that she had been when he’d gone to sleep.

“You had another nightmare,” she said quietly, feeling awkward all of a sudden, as though he had caught her doing something inappropriate.

A grave look of understanding came over Bellamy’s face, and he nodded. 

“Thank you,” he replied.

Clarke looked up and met his eyes, and saw gratitude in them, as well as fear and deep sorrow. She wondered if he remembered the nightmares. Hopefully not. He had enough memories to haunt him during his waking hours. The last thing he needed was bad dreams to dwell on, as well.

Looking away, Clarke suddenly became aware that her neck was sore. She twisted it to each side, relieving a bit of the ache, then stretched her arms in front of her.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as she stretched her legs. Somehow throughout the night, her paralysis had been completely forgotten. But now, she stretched again, and felt the muscles strain forward in her left leg, though her right leg still lay motionless in front of her.

“I can move it,” she said breathlessly, pulling her left knee up to her chest and wiggling her toes. Unable to hide her relief, she let out a giddy laugh. Bellamy chuckled next to her.

“That’s good, Princess,” he said, and Clarke swore he smiled before he stood up, stretching his long limbs as he did so. Without another word, he gathered his pack and weapons, ducking out of the cave entrance. A short while later he returned with their breakfast.

It took another full day for Clarke to regain full use of her right leg. When Bellamy woke the next morning, she was pacing slowly back and forth, each step becoming stronger.

“Ready to get moving?” he asked bluntly, sitting up and gathering the sleeping bag from under him. He rolled it up, cinched it, and began placing the rest of their meager belongings into the packs.

Clarke sighed. Part of her was reluctant to leave this area -- what if someone was still out there? What if the Ark was coming to help them? What if her mom was coming? But she couldn’t deny the danger of staying here, and the unlikelihood of actually finding more of her people. Besides, she knew that if she wanted to stay, she’d be alone -- there’d be no convincing Bellamy to stay. And they both stood much better chance at survival together than they did apart. It was safer to stay together.

Resigned, she nodded and bent to help him finish packing up. They put out their small fire, smothering it with a few handfuls of dirt.

Exiting the cave, Clarke blinked against the bright sunlight. 

It was still so unfamiliar to her, having lived her entire life confined within the Ark. The sheer brightness of the sun, and the warmth it gave off - there was nothing like it. Mankind could not hope to replicate such a wondrous thing. 

It was remarkable that the human race had survived in their metal box in the sky. How could anyone live without the sunshine?

They headed south, moving quickly but cautiously through the woods. Neither spoke, and Clarke found the silence was comfortable now, unlike the first few days in the cave. Back then, the silence had been distance between them. Today, it felt like the were sharing the quiet together. As they traveled, there was little need to speak. Bellamy occasionally raised his hand to indicate that she stop and wait, or pointed to change their direction as needed.

Clarke found that they traveled well together. She often anticipated his next move before he directed her. Neither one moved too fast or too slow, and they kept up a brisk pace for several hours. Finally, they stopped to rest.

As she leaned against a tree next to Bellamy, drinking from her water bottle, Clarke felt a strange sensation in her wrist. Glancing down, puzzled, she realized that she had completely forgotten about her wristband. It was now pulsing.

Apparently Bellamy had forgotten it too. He stared at her, wide-eyed. 

“What?” she asked wonderingly, holding her wrist up and inspecting it. “What is...holy shit!” she cried out, and leaned forward, frantically searching the ground until she found a small rock.

“What are you doing?” Bellamy questioned, as she jumped up and then fell to her knees a few feet away. She didn’t answer, her mind focused on the sensation at her wrist. She used the rock to draw in the dirt for a few minutes before the pulsing stopped. Another minute went by before she drew back and looked at her work. Bellamy came and squatted behind her, reading what she’d written.

A T H E R S A F E C O M E M O N T Y

“It’s Morse code. And it’s from Monty,” she whispered in amazement. Then she frowned and tilted her head, trying to make sense of it.

“Couldn’t it be for Monty, from someone else?” Bellamy questioned.

“No. Monty was...is a tech genius. If anyone could make these wristbands communicate, it’s him. But what does it mean?” 

Clarke repeated the words to herself over and over, stressing different syllables each time. She read it fast and slow. Finally, she gasped when it suddenly clicked in her mind.

“Of course! I missed the first few letters. It’s _Mt. Weather_. Mt. Weather is safe. Come. Monty. That’s the message.”

“What?” Bellamy shook his head. “That’s insane. You said Mt. Weather wasn’t safe. You said it was out of bounds.”

“The message came through on this wristband. These wristbands are from the Ark. Monty is trying to find people from the Ark, our people, people who came down on the dropship with us. He’s trying to find us. He’s trying to bring us there! If he’s safe there, maybe we can be too.”

Clarke sounded hopeful to her own ears, and she dug her fingernails into her wrist, a pinch of pain to bring her back to her senses. She told herself not to get too excited. Hope was a dangerous emotion, and had served her poorly in the past.

“It’s too dangerous,” Bellamy said flatly, his face unreadable. Clarke met his eyes, and suddenly felt the distance between them had returning, growing even wider than before.

“We have to go,” she stated forcefully, and his jaw clenched.

“No, Clarke, we don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is when things start to get exciting! Are they going to go find Monty? What will happen if they do? I have some ideas...might get a little dark at some points along the way, but don't worry, the Bellarke relationship stuff is on the horizon, too. 
> 
> Comments please!
> 
> Visit my [tumblr](http://tumblr.com/together-at-the-start-of-time).


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